Tuesday marked the Daily Trojan’s 113th anniversary, adding another chapter to its legacy as one of the largest print publications on the West Coast and the many milestones that have defined the paper’s history. 

The Daily Trojan, originally called The Daily Southern Californian, published its first issue on Sept. 16, 1912, after the paper’s first student editor W.R. “Ralph” La Porte convinced then-President George Finley Bovard to create a student newspaper for USC. Its first articles focused on rugby team tryouts and the school’s social scene, but the paper eventually grew to include everything from interviews with former President Richard Nixon to coverage of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

The paper has played an essential role in covering both local and national news, offering students a platform to tell stories, amplify community voices and hold institutions accountable. Most recently, this has included coverage of student protests, issues facing community businesses and the University’s recent mass layoffs and budget cuts. 

Beyond reporting, the Daily Trojan has been a foundation for those pursuing journalism careers. Alumni have gone on to work at publications such as the Los Angeles Times, the New Yorker and The Washington Post, including Pulitzer prize-winning satirist Art Buchwald and film critic Justin Chang. 

The Daily Trojan has also amassed a collection of local, state and national awards, including the Associated Collegiate Press Newspaper Pacemaker Award, often hailed as the Pulitzer Prize of college journalism, as well as the ACP Online Pacemaker Award, most recently in 2017 and 2016, respectively. It has also received a variety of state awards from the California College Media Association over the years. 

This summer, at the Los Angeles Press Clubs’ 67th Southern California Journalism Awards banquet, the Daily Trojan Spring 2024 staff won a first-place award for its social media coverage of the Spring 2024 pro-Palestinian encampment protests, beating out the Los Angeles Times and a combination of California and Los Angeles publications.

At the end of last year, the Daily Trojan boasted the title of being the West Coast’s last daily print student newspaper until its budget was slashed by the University. Now the paper prints three times a week, and is unable to pay its staffers.

As the Daily Trojan enters its 113th year of publishing, it will continue to serve the USC community with student-focused and student-driven journalism.